Updates & Shout Outs

I was all set to post our wedding ceremony recap post this morning, but I’m waiting to hear back from our Officiant because I had a couple questions and want to make sure the post is complete, so I’m sorry to say you’ll have to be kept in suspense a little longer. Please stay tuned – it will be up sometime next week!

1) Today is the last day of my very final dietetic internship!!!!! I can hardly believe it. It’s been such an interesting journey, but I’m of course very happy to have one more thing checked off the list. Thanks to Danielle Omar for a great last internship! I was actually able to counsel a few of my own clients through her, which was really helpful. There’s only so much observing you can do before it stops being helpful, so I was appreciative of the opportunity to actually give it a shot myself and get her feedback (she listened in on all my counseling calls)!

2) I submitted my first draft of my masters paper to my UNC Chapel Hill advisor on Wednesday! I’ll be going back and forth with my advisor making edits and then my final draft (along with a PowerPoint presentation to go with it) is due the day before Thanksgiving. I’ll be heading down the UNC the week after Thanksgiving to join my fellow classmates as we all present our papers and then enjoy a graduation celebration with our Masters of Public Health department on Friday, November 30th! I can’t believe my grad school journey is almost over. I’m excited for the next step in life but I already miss all my wonderful grad school girlfriends since we haven’t been there all together since the spring. Sniff!

3) My Hurricane Sandy Relief Auction Fundraiser ended last night and was a great success – thank you so much to all of you for your support in bidding and spreading the news. Together, we raised $385 for the American Red Crossto help those in need after last week’s terrible hurricane. Every little bit helps! I’ll be sending out your prizes later today and next week, so please keep an eye out if you won something.

5) Girls on the Run DC is in need of volunteers and running buddies for the girls participating in their program finale 5k race on Sunday, December 2nd. I would love to help out but Matt and I will still be down at UNC; if any of you can help, here’s the link to sign up! Girls on the Run is an awesome organization and I always love supporting them.

6) Last but not least, I wanted to share an email I got from a reader named Cait sharing her inspirational running story.

To say running is my life would only be a slight stretch; I ran competitively for years, but it wasn’t until I was hit by a car out running and nearly lost my leg that I realized just how much I loved it. The doctors told me I probably wouldn’t be able to walk normally ever again (running nearly impossible), but I knew in my heart I’d prove them wrong and be a runner again. In the struggle to once again call myself a runner (YAY!! I made it!) I used my other passion for art as an outlet and it sparked in me the desire to create a line of running shirts that could help motivate and inspire other people to achieve their own goals, even if those dreams may seem impossible at the moment. I also wanted the shirts to be fashionable enough to function as ‘normal people’ shirts too… fashion is all about making a statement and mine is this: I am a runner and proud of it. I’ve personally designed each shirt, each has a deeper meaning behind it, and are screened on tech-tees. I hope that they may ignite in you the drive to dream big and go for it! You can see and learn more here: www.CaitChock.com/store

Amazing, huh? I’d love if you guys checked out her store (the shirts are REALLY cute!) and gave her some love. I was so awed by how she turned such a terrible situation into a positive one, and that by her own pure determination and drive she was able to run again. Truly inspiring, and a very good reminder to not take our ability to run and do the things we love for granted. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and do something active today, for those who can’t.

Congrats on finishing your internship! What a great feeling that must be! I love the story behind Cait’s shirts. I can relate-I partially ruptured my Achille’s tendon in August and just started walking about three weeks ago. Running is a huge part of my life and it’s been difficult not running. It’s slow going, but my goal is to be able to start running in January. Any ways, thanks for sharing Cait’s story and shirts!

Totally random comment, but I feel your pain! I ruptured my patellar tendon and just started learning how to walk again Had to DNR at the Army Ten Miler that my husband and I had planned on running after his PCS to the area. Hope your recovery is going well! Boo tendon injuries!

Congratulations with finishing up your internship and grad school! I haven’t commented much on your blog but have been following your journey these past few years!

Also, thanks for the shout out for Girls on the Run- DC! I have been working as their intern this Fall and we have been busy planning the 5K. However, without our volunteers, the race would not be possible!

I loved this post. Thanks to Jill K I now have a new workout mantra. TGIF! Love that. As always Anne thank you for having a nice positive place to visit. Your blog is always filled with all the things that I need to hear at just the right time. Blessings to you. Have a lovely day.

Such great updates! I love your positive attitude. I just got some bad news about my parents breaking up today (midway through a crazy hectic second year of grad
school), so I needed this boost–thanks!

I can’t believe our grad school adventures are coming to an end – it’s definitely sad but I’m SO SO happy we found each other! No one can ever take that away. Can’t wait to see you in a couple weeks and nice work with the fundraising! How great!

Congrats on all of your updates, you’ve got so much to celebrate!!! And I was so touched by Cait’s story because of my own health problems but she put into prospective how lucky and blessed we all are to have the things we do… Inspiring!

You are so welcome! It was a pleasure working with you. You will be an awesome RD — you inspire and influence so many people already. Wishing you the best of luck in the coming weeks finishing things up!

Wow, congrats on finishing your internship and for completing a first draft! The hard part is done, the first draft!!! When it is all finished can I read it sometime? I would love that, we could do thesis-swap book club, Turner can come too

Awesome job with the fundraising! I’m always so impressed with your ability to juggle so much so twell and I know you’ll be relieved when your program is done! I’ll definitely be looking for more running inspiration from you now that I’m training for the RnR D.C. marathon- maybe you want to sign too?

A big congratulations on officially being done with your dietetic internship! What a huge accomplishment, and an inspiring one too! It seems like just yesterday we were all at orientation Can’t wait to (hopefully) see it come to a close in a few weeks!

Congrats on finishing your internship and grad school, so awesome! Also, thanks for sharing the volunteer info for GOTR, I’m excited to help out with the 5K!! It’ll be so much fun to support those girls and cheer them on, yay!

Wow! Things really are wrapping up, aren’t they? Must feel amazing! Good luck with your paper and presentation! I feel like it will be bittersweet when I finish too, just like with everything else. I have a lot of fun and heartwarming memories with my classmates, and it’d be said to see all of us go our separate ways. But I’m getting ahead of myself here since I still have couple of years with them..They’re stuck with me Muhaha ;).
And thank you so much for sharing Cait’s story..Truly inspiring! Stories like these remind me to never give up!

Connect With Me

I'm a Washington D.C. area Registered Dietitian (RD) with a Masters of Public Health in Nutrition from UNC-Chapel Hill. I'm a marathoner, (whole) foodie, yogi, CrossFit-er, and lover of sunshine, photography, travel, adventure, and healthy recipe creation.

Interested in private nutrition counseling? Check out my business website, AnneTheRD.com. I work with both local and virtual clients.